Operative and diagnostic laparoscopy is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the United States today. Therefore, any complication associated with this procedure poses a major public health concern.
Conventional known laparoscopic procedures usually are carried out as follows:
1. An instrument known as the Veress needle is blindly inserted through the navel into the abdominal cavity of a patient.
2. Carbon dioxide is delivered blindly through the Veress needle into the abdomen.
3. A laparoscopy trocar assembly comprised by a trocar and trocar sleeve is blindly inserted through the navel into and through the abdominal wall of the abdominal cavity.
4. The trocar is withdrawn from the trocar sleeve and a light telescope with light source placed in the sleeve thus making visualization of the interior of the cavity possible.
5. Once clear visualization is established a variety of surgical procedures can be carried out safely through the central opening in the trocar sleeve with remotely operable surgical instruments in a conventional known manner.
There are several reports in the medical literature that the first two steps of a laparoscopic procedure as outlined above can be omitted, and the laparoscopic trocar assembly directly be inserted blindly into the abdominal cavity. Results of these papers indicate that complications can still be expected since the entry through the abdominal cavity wall into the abdominal cavity remains blind.